George Marrone knew exactly how to turn a nondescript townhouse into his dream home. "I wanted to personalize the whole house," he says. "I didn't want anything to be original because the rooms were all a builder-grade, late-eighties design. So I started over."

George was attracted to the house's location in the hills of Aston, Pennsylvania, and its wide open floor plan in which one room flows into the next. But he knew he would have to deconstruct the interior. Although he had never done any remodeling before, he just went with his instincts, he says. With the help of his partner, Michael Nocera, he stripped down the rooms, painted the walls, and added all new tiling and woodwork.

More From ELLE DECOR

While the two men shared the renovation labor, they divided up the decorating tasks. "Mike has an eye for art, that's really his thing," says George, who works as a hospital supervisor. "Mine's the furniture. I like a low-maintenance house. My personal design sense is forward-thinking, mixing iconic mid-century pieces with old and new ones for a unique look."

The result is what he calls "soft modern" filled with pieces that are new and old-looking, as well as actual antiques. He chose sculptural pieces with strong silhouettes—like the free-form lighting fixture that hovers over the dining room table, or the living room's slipper chairs with gently curving legs—to "keep things moving in the space so it doesn't feel static."

A mix of subdued hues provides a sophisticated color scheme. A warm, pale yellow sets the tone on the walls of the whole first level, serving as an upbeat yet neutral background for furnishings in accent colors inspired by the outdoors—including a sky-blue sofa and a soft yellow armchair. Upstairs, where there are two bedroom suites, the palette consists of earthier shades of brown. Throughout the house, hardwood flooring helps warm up the interior and dark woods emphasize the clean lines of furnishings.

George and Michael also employed a few cost-cutting tricks to give each room its distinctive look. Instead of costly wall art in the living room, an ironwork stencil of leaves enhances the outdoor theme—as do accent pillows and the rug, with their natural, organic colors and motifs. George splurged on blue silk to cover the French doors, but used panels rather than full draperies to save money. He added a linen shade to a marked-down floor lamp and paired it with a reduced-price floor-model wooden table. In the master bedroom, the goal was to add textural interest. Here, George covered walls in grass cloth, then framed the bed with panels made from artist's stretchers covered with ultrasuede for a sense of depth.

In a labor of love, George and Michael transformed the house's cookie-cutter rooms into a highly individualized interior with true personality.Up Close with George

What are your favorite colors?
My favorite color is sky-blue. People say it's my signature color. It's calming and serene and makes me think about the sky and outdoors.

What are some of your favorite sources of inspiration?
Good design of any kind and the colors of a beautiful artwork. Nature and being outdoors are also very inspirational to me.

What one word sums up your style?
Clean.

What things can't you live without?
The sofa—it feels like I'm sitting on clouds. I'm obsessed with mosaic tile, which ties together art and architecture; an heirloom chest that belonged to my great grandmother; family photos, certainly; artwork; and the Internet, my window to the world.

Where are your favorite haunts for bargains? If I'm looking for older pieces—mid-century-inspired pieces—I definitely go to Internet auctions. For other pieces, I do flea markets because you never know what you're going to find.

Which is your favorite month?
June, it's the beginning of summer when the days are the longest. I'm very athletic and I love to play tennis. I'm excited by that whole time. We go to the beach every weekend.

Clean and Serene
George offers these tips on adding flair to modern rooms:

Infuse it with warm colors. "A lot of modern spaces lack color and that, to me, feels very sterile. You can bring color in inexpensive ways with paint, pillows, throws."

Vary your sources for all your pieces. "Otherwise your rooms will feel catalog-like and impersonal. And mix the pieces from different periods so rooms don't date themselves. It's better for your budget, too, since you won't be driven by trends."

Splurge on one or two things and use them as a base. "In the living room, the sofa is a piece you want to last, so you should invest money in it."